By DEB NICKLAY, Of The Globe Gazette

MASON CITY - The Mason City High School Concert Choir is taking its talent on the road again, bringing its tradition of quality performances to the national stage one more time.

The group, under the direction of Joel Everist, will perform at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts at the invitation-only New York Choral Festival on Monday, March 17.

"We can't wait. This really is a chance of a lifetime," said choir member Alexandra Marinos. "Having the chance to appear on this stage is fabulous - and, I think we're going to impress some people there, too."

The 78-member choir will spend four days in New York, leaving Thursday and returning home March 18.

The choir is one of seven high school choirs which will perform at the festival. Invitations are restricted to outstanding choir programs that have received a first-place finish at a national competition and were chosen by audition.

It's the second time the local choir has been invited to the New York festival.

There will be a difference this year, however. For the first time, the choir will be featured in the "star" spot, the very last performance of the high school concert program. The concert will be held at 2 p.m. March 17 in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.

"This is a phenomenal opportunity for our students," Everist said. "The chance to work with other top choirs from around the country and to learn from distinguished clinicians is an unparalleled educational experience.

"And to represent Mason City on the stage of Lincoln Center, where the greatest musicians of the world have performed, will be an event our students will remember and treasure."

The festival will be led by Roger Duffer, conductor of the Inland Master Chorale of Los Angeles; Weston Noble, conductor of Luther College's Nordic Choir; Jan Pedersen Schiff, conductor of the Marin Singers of California, and Lisa Lutter, conductor of Cantate, a noted choir from Guam.

Students will also learn from the multiple Grammy Award-winning ensemble, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Several Mason City students will also perform in a chamber choir made up of students from all participating choirs. They are Alisha Barr, Jenny Ehlers, Cassie Bailey, Sara Van Hemert, Jeff Backlin, James McKone, Ryan Borcherding and Lawren Stone.

The group will visit various New York sites, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NBC Studios, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.

Students have prepared for their visit to Ellis Island by doing research into ancestors who came through the historic port.

To learn more about the choir trip, visit its Web site, which offers recordings of performances and movies from past tours: www.mchschoir.com.

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